Table of Contents

Abstract: Analysis was made of 3,923 records of 162 wild Passiflora specimens to assess the distribution of their diversity in Colombia, identify collection gaps, and explore their potential as indicator species. Despite variable collecting density among and within biogeographic regions, the Andean region clearly presents a higher species richness, particularly in the central coffee growing zone and the departments of Antioquia, Cundinamarca and Valle del Cauca. The elevational distribution of diversity shows a small peak below 500 m, and two higher ones between 1,000–2,000 and 2,500–3,000 m. This pattern corresponds to divergent adaptive trends among infrageneric divisions. The analysis on 19 climatic variables showed that the two principal variance components, explaining 77 percent of the total, are respectively associated with temperature and precipitation, without influence of seasonality. Distribution parameters allow recognizing more than 36 narrow endemics. Prediction of species distribution showed nine areas with very high richness (predicted sympatry of 41 to 54 species) in the Andean region, three of which correspond to collection gaps. Endemics were not particularly frequent there, so a prioritization of protected areas based on species richness would not favor their conservation. The sites with high Passiflora diversity are poorly represented in the current system of protected areas. Instead, their striking correspondence with ecotopes of the coffee growing zone imposes a conservation strategy integrating agricultural and environmental management at the landscape level. Reciprocally, several traits of Passiflora species make them particularly suited as indicators for any effort of conservation or restoration in this region of importance for the country.

Abstract: Anticipating the effects of climate change on biodiversity is now critical for managing wild species and ecosystems. Climate change is a global driver and thus affects biodiversity globally. However, land-use planners and natural resource managers need regional or even local predictions. This provides scientists with formidable challenges given the poor documentation of biodiversity and its complex relationships with climate. We are approaching this problem in Quebec, Canada, through the CC-Bio Project (http://cc‑bio.uqar.ca/), using a boundary organization as a catalyst for team work involving climate modelers, biologists, naturalists, and biodiversity managers. In this paper we present the CC-Bio Project and its general approach, some preliminary results, the emerging hypothesis of the northern biodiversity paradox (a potential increase of biodiversity in northern ecosystems due to climate change), and an early assessment of the conservation implications generated by our team work.

Abstract: Forty-five Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis (Xaj) strains originating from Juglans regia cultivation in different countries were molecularly typed by means of MultiLocus Sequence Typing (MLST), using acnB, gapA, gyrB and rpoD gene fragments. A total of 2.5 kilobases was used to infer the phylogenetic relationship among the strains and possible recombination events. Haplotype diversity, linkage disequilibrium analysis, selection tests, gene flow estimates and codon adaptation index were also assessed. The dendrograms built by maximum likelihood with concatenated nucleotide and amino acid sequences revealed two major and two minor phylotypes. The same haplotype was found in strains originating from different continents, and different haplotypes were found in strains isolated in the same year from the same location. A recombination breakpoint was detected within the rpoD gene fragment. At the pathovar level, the Xaj populations studied here are clonal and under neutral selection. However, four Xaj strains isolated from walnut fruits with apical necrosis are under diversifying selection, suggesting a possible new adaptation. Gene flow estimates do not support the hypothesis of geographic isolation of the strains, even though the genetic diversity between the strains increases as the geographic distance between them increases. A triplet deletion, causing the absence of valine, was found in the rpoD fragment of all 45 Xaj strains when compared with X. axonopodis pv. citri strain 306. The codon adaptation index was high in all four genes studied, indicating a relevant metabolic activity.